


Muggle Studies

by mrsfelfoy



Series: Muggle Studies [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, tom holland - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 11:37:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15023735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsfelfoy/pseuds/mrsfelfoy
Summary: Harry Potter is introduced to Lip Sync Battle during the strangest Muggle Studies class he's ever been part of.Stranger still, is Draco Malfoy's reaction.Because really, who thought making N.E.W.T.-level Muggle Studies compulsory was a good idea anyway?





	Muggle Studies

‘Well, well, Potter. Celebrity status didn’t get you of Muggle Studies this year?’ Malfoy’s sneering voice echoed across the classroom. Harry was surprised by how foreign it sounded, Malfoy had been particularly quiet since the beginning of their eight year. Now he took to only goading Harry when they were alone, as they were now. At first, Harry was grateful – he liked that Malfoy refused to treat Harry any differently than he had before. Even Ron and Hermione were struggling to remember that he’s still just Harry. After a while though, Harry realised that he doesn’t want to fight anymore, he’s done with fighting. He just wants to move on with the live he never really planned on having.

  
‘It’s compulsory for a reason, Malfoy,’ Harry replied tiredly. He realised that sounded far worse than he really meant it to. ‘Malfoy, I-’

  
‘Shut it, Potter.’ Malfoy spat back. ‘I get it. I showed up to this hellhole like the Ministry wanted. I’m sitting in this god-awful classroom because the school governors wanted me to. I’d appreciate it if you could refrain from reminding me of my bad decisions. I assure you I’m well aware of them already.’ Harry could see Malfoy gripping the edges of the desk in a vice-like grip, his knuckles an in-human shade of white. Harry hadn’t meant to make Malfoy angry. He opened his mouth intending to apologise but he was cut off.

  
‘Harry!’ Hermione flung herself into the classroom. She was less worried about having to take Muggle Studies because although she grew up muggle just like Harry, she wouldn’t pass up any opportunity for further learning, or an easy O grade.

  
‘’m fine Hermione.’ He said, his voice muffled against her bushy hair. Hermione had become unnaturally clingy since Harry had died. He supposed he couldn’t really blame her, he knew how he would’ve felt if it had been her who disappeared into the forest. Still, he’s not a small child, she doesn’t need to know where he is all hours of the day and night.

  
‘You shouldn’t sneak off like that, Harry, anything could happen to you.’ She scolded him.

  
‘What, like an AK to the head by a genocidal maniac?’ He shot back sarcastically. He felt another stab of guilt as she physically recoiled.

  
‘Harry, I’m just trying to help.’ She said shortly. He glanced at Ron, who’d shuffled in more subtly, for some support but Ron’s eyes were glued safely to the desk he shared with Harry. Chicken.

  
‘I know Hermione, I’m sorry.’ He apologised as she took a seat at the desk next to his and Ron’s. Harry had been struggling to reign his anger in since the end of the war. It was like he had all this extra energy and nowhere for it to go. He’s spellwork was a mess, he’d been over-casting for months now to the point where his friends hardly trusted him with a warming charm. He really will fire a nasty stinging hex at the next person to comment on his poor sleeping pattern. That’s why he ended up at class early. He’d overslept again and couldn’t face another morning of Hermione forcing eggs and bacon in his face so he came to Muggle Studies early. Actually, he wondered what made Malfoy…

  
That train of thought was cut short abruptly when Professor Hodge entered the room. No one knew much about her as she’d only been appointed this year. She reminded Harry very much of a muggle comedian he’d seen once; she was really quite tall and broad and decidedly un-feminine. She was also really quite clumsy, he’d seen her trip over the same leg of the teacher’s table in the Great Hall at every meal she’d attended since she’d started.

  
‘Hello, hello, hello.’ She began. It took all of Harry’s willpower not to cringe at her poor attempt at enthusiasm. He briefly wondered when he started sounding like a grouchy old man. ‘Well, as exciting as meme culture is, I’ve decided to try something different today. A Wednesday morning, pick-me-up if you will.’ She said with a grin. Harry rested his chin in his hands and prayed it wouldn’t be something weird. He swore he’d seen her galloping down the East corridor last week.

  
There was a general groan from the other eighth-year students as they all seemed to be thinking the same as Harry. This seemed not to deter professor Hodge.  
‘Professor Flitwick kindly assisted me in the necessary charm work to allow a muggle computer to work inside the castle. Don’t get your hopes up, you won’t be finding any laptops popping up in your dorms any time soon. The magic in the castle is very old and it took poor Professor Flitwick days to sort this out. I expect you’ll appreciate his hard work.’ She shot a stern look at them all, as if daring them to defy her.

  
‘Today I’m going to introduce you to a muggle phenomenon known as lip-syncing. They’ve made quite a charming entertainment show out of muggle celebrities dressing up as other celebrities and miming their songs.’ She explained, looking far too excited. Harry was sceptical, it didn’t sound very entertaining. Malfoy snorted and Harry shot him a glare. He knew what Malfoy would be thinking, how the embarrass the Saviour number one. ‘This particular show,’ Professor Hodge carried on, ‘pits two celebrities against each other in a battle to decide who can lip sync better in what I call, Lip Sync Battle.’ She said proudly, as if it was all her own idea.  
‘But professor, it is lip sync battle.’ Piped up Seamus, ‘that’s actually the show’s name.’ Clearly Seamus had seen it before.

  
‘Yes, yes Mr Finnegan, lip sync battle.’ She said, as if she had no idea what Seamus was trying to tell her.’ She turned away from them to set the computer up and Seamus shot him and Ron a helpless look. Harry just shrugged back at him. They watched in silence as she loaded up YouTube and searched for Lip Sync Battle. Harry was itching to ask whether Hogwarts had Wi-Fi, since he couldn’t see any ethernet cables. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to become another Hermione, she’d probably be asking the same question any time now.

  
She loaded a video entitled Lip Sync Battle – Tom Holland. Harry was vaguely aware of the name but couldn’t place it. No doubt Dean had talked about him before. The video started playing and a young-ish looking guy, maybe somewhere around twenty, was dancing around in a suit and hat to an old muggle song called Singing in the Rain. Surely this isn’t current entertainment, thought Harry. This song is ancient. He spoke too soon. As he watched, the young man ran behind some of the backing dancers and the music changed to a new pop song Harry hadn’t heard before about umbrellas.

  
When the young man, Tom, reappeared, the entire class was riveted. He’d swapped the pressed suit and hat for what could only be described as women’s lingerie. The hat was replaced by a sleek black wig cut to difference lengths at each side and instead of a suit he wore a black buttoned corset and what looked like PVC hot pants. Harry didn’t know where to look. And where those…frilly cuffs!? Harry could feel his face heating. Surely this was indecent.

  
Tom had taken on an entirely different persona, he was quite literally strutting about the stage, wiggling his hips and using an umbrella in ways Harry never thought an umbrella should be used. He cast a surreptitious glance around the room to see what other people were thinking about this. The girls were all grinning wildly at the screen as if this was the best think they’d ever seen, the boys seemed to be caught between mild horror and fascination.

  
‘Wow, this new Spider-Man movie is a bit extreme,’ Dean yelled from the back. Parvati and the other girls started giggling profusely. Ah, Harry thought. That’s where I’ve heard that name before. Dean was massively into his superhero movies at the minute and was currently ploughing his way through the Marvel franchise every chance he got. Superhero’s weren’t really Harry’s thing, he’d never been one to watch many films as a kid, since the Dursley’s would never pay for him to go to the local cinema. Now he wondered if he should invest in a Netflix subscription when he went home for Christmas. He’d managed to get a tv installed at Grimmauld Place over the summer since there was a new shop on Diagon that specialised in integrating Muggle technology with magic. It was all very a new endeavour and there was a lot left to learn.

  
The one person in the room whose reaction mattered to Harry was Malfoy. Malfoy’s grey eyes were wide and shining as he watched the Spider-Man guy on screen. Harry had half expected Malfoy to watch with utter disgust, particularly as there were many muggles who wouldn’t be happy to see something like this, let alone a pureblood wizard. Malfoy in reality looked like he was experiencing some sort of existential awakening. Harry wasn’t entirely sure he’d blinked yet. Interesting.

  
Harry turned his attention back to Tom, who’d ditched the umbrella want was dancing in perfect sync with the other dancers under a water sprinkler. He must have some sort of dance training, Harry thought as he watched him do all kinds of flips and tricks as part of the routine. It ended when Tom did a front flip and landed flat on his back with one leg propped up. There was stunned silence across the room as people took in what they’d seen. Harry belatedly realised that he hadn’t paid the slightest bit of attention to the actually lip-syncing aspect of the short video, although he doubted anyone else had either.

  
‘Bloody hell!’ Ron said a little too loudly, making the people nearest them jump slightly. ‘They allow that on tv? Muggles are crazy!’ Hermione didn’t take this reaction well.

  
‘Yes Ronald, it’s a very popular muggle show. What exactly is wrong with it?’ She asked him sharply. Harry turned to watch Ron turn a particularly vibrant shade of red.  
‘Well, uh, he’s wearing…women’s clothes!’ Ron said, as if he couldn’t quite understand why Hermione didn’t find it scandalous.

  
‘So?’ She bit back. ‘Who decides what are women’s clothes and what are men’s clothes anyway? It’s just a bit of fun. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.’ Harry winced. That probably wasn’t the wisest choice of words.

  
‘I don’t wear knickers!’ Ron said indignantly. Harry hoped the floor would just swallow him whole. By this time, the entire class had broken out in excited murmuring. All except Malfoy, who was sitting stiffly next to Pansy and ignoring anything she was saying to him. Harry’s hope that Malfoy was accepting of this type of muggle culture was swiftly wiped away. He looked as ashen as Ron did.

  
Professor Hodge, by all accounts, seemed blissfully unaware of the effects of Lip Sync Battle, and went on with looking for another video of the same style.

  
‘Right – on with the merriment, my chums!’ She exclaimed happily. Harry didn’t want to know where McGonagall had found this woman. She had Dumbledore written all over her.

∞

Harry couldn’t get that video out of his mind for the rest of the day. More to the point, he couldn’t get Malfoy’s reaction out of his mind. He’d been suspiciously quiet after class and in fact, Harry hadn’t seen him at all since lunchtime when he’d skulked off on his own and left Pansy floundering without him. The Slytherins had established a pack-like mentality this year, as if safety in numbers would shield them from the rest of the school. McGonagall’s plans for inter-house unity had gone down like a lead balloon it seemed.

  
Harry was surprised then to see Malfoy sitting in the new eighth-year common room that evening. He was even more surprised that Malfoy approached him.

  
‘Potter.’ Malfoy greeted him curtly.

  
‘Malfoy.’

  
‘I wanted to talk to you.’ Malfoy said, glancing around to see if anyone else was about. It was late, and many eighth-years had gone to bed already.

  
‘Don’t worry Malfoy, no one is here to witness you ruin your image.’ Harry said, a little too nastily. Malfoy flinched.

  
‘Don’t flatter yourself, Potter. I wanted to ask you about that thing we saw in Muggle Studies.’ Malfoy said quietly. It took Harry by surprise, why would Malfoy go to him of all people? Did he want to rant about how weird and uncalled for it was? Surely he would go to Pansy for all that. ‘Don’t look so shocked, Potter. Believe me, I would rather not have to talk to you about it either. Somehow I don’t think Granger would appreciate my questioning her about muggle culture, do you?’ Harry couldn’t argue with that.

  
‘Um, what about it?’ He asked a little nervously. They took the armchairs by the fire and it struck Harry that if anyone were to walk in, it would look like he was having a nice friendly chat with Malfoy of all people.

  
‘Is that kind of thing…common in the muggle world?’ Malfoy asked him, subconsciously leaning towards Harry. He found it amusing that Malfoy was hanging off his every word, but he wouldn’t dare point it out.

  
‘Why, fancy trying some women’s clothes, Malfoy?’ Harry snickered. He loved aggravating Malfoy, it was so easy and familiar. He watched the tell-tale signs of Malfoy’s annoyance; the flare of his nostrils, the slight twitch in his eye. It was just too easy to get on his nerves.

  
‘Very funny, Potter. I’ll have you know I’m quite happy with my masculinity.’ Harry snorted. Malfoy might be tall and pointy, but there was a certain elegance to him. He may be all long and lean but despite the pointedness of his chin and nose, there was a softer element to the lines of his arms and legs and the other day when Harry had seen him bend over a snargaluff plant in Herbology – oh hell.

  
‘Why do you care then?’ Harry recovered himself before the pause was too obvious. Malfoy looked away and Harry could tell he was choosing his next words carefully.

  
‘My father,’ he started slowly, ‘led me to believe that muggles were intolerant people. I, of course, had no reason to think otherwise until I witnessed…things…during the war. Seeing that strange show muggles call entertainment made me realise that maybe they’re not quite as bad as I might have once thought.’ Harry wondered if perhaps this might be as close to an apology he’d ever get from Draco Malfoy. Not that it was Harry who needed to hear it.

  
‘Why me?’ He asked. Malfoy’s head shot up in confusion. ‘Why not go to someone else, like Dean. You don’t hate him nearly as much as you hate me.’

  
‘I don’t hate you Potter.’ Malfoy said in a tone Harry had never heard from him before. ‘I didn’t ask Thomas because, well, he’s not as open as you are. I’ve seen you this year, sticking up for the younger Slytherins. You don’t torment us as much as the others. I thought, rather, I hoped, that maybe if you could teach me more about muggle culture, I could change your mind about hating me.’ Harry was astounded. He never thought Malfoy particularly cared about what Harry thought of him. Ok, he probably should’ve known better than that. It had been Malfoy who’d offered his friendship way back in first year, and Harry who had rejected him, not the other way round.

  
‘Well, if it helps…I don’t hate you either.’ Harry said carefully. Malfoys eyes went wide and if it had been anyone else, Harry might have found it endearing. Who was he kidding? It was definitely endearing.

  
‘You don’t?’ Harry nodded and Malfoy actually smiled. Harry had never seen Malfoy smile like that before. It transformed his whole face. Harry wasn’t afraid to admit that he’d like to see Malfoy smile like that more often. ‘So, you’ll help me then Potter?’ The vulnerability in Malfoy’s voice did something strange to Harry and before he could stop himself he said,

  
‘It’s Harry, Malfoy.’ Malfoy’s smile grew impossibly wider and Harry thought maybe he’d be blinded soon. Malfoy's smiled faltered slightly and Harry was worried he might've overstepped the mark. He opened his mouth, unsure of what he was going to say, but Malfoy beat him to it.

  
‘It’s Draco, Harry.’ Harry couldn’t keep himself from grinning at that.


End file.
